(Sorry this was a bit late, I had some internet issues and I was unable to post it.)

Many people believe that competitive gaming - also known as electronic sports, or esports - is not a ‘real’ sport, and should not be considered as such. However, esports require the same dedication and prowess as recognized sports, have comparable levels of popularity, and there can also be extensive legal problems for professional players due to the lack of official legislation.

During the peak of League of Legends 2015 world finals, there were over 14 million concurrent viewers, and the final number of unique viewers was 36 million. The 2015 Electronic Sports League event in Cologne recorded 27 million viewers, and the event Dreamhack hosted a CS:GO tournament that attracted an audience of 25 million. The esports scene is not insignificant, and is growing fast; faster than the laws around it.

When receiving prize money, salary, and other income, the hazy legal distinction can mean they are taxed far more than traditional athletes, and other paperwork involving their employment can become difficult. However, there are more problems than taxation.

Visa issues have plagued international players for the history of the sport. The majority of the time, players can obtain P-1A visas which are issued to “Internationally Recognized Athletes”. However, if these fall through, it can ruin careers and livelihoods as well as a team’s chances in competitions. Registering for a P-1A visa takes up to six weeks, and it can be denied for a variety of reasons, including the personal judgement of immigration and embassy staff. The denial of these visas can cost tens of thousands of dollars in plane tickets, hotels, and other pre-paid expenses. To give two recent examples, the all-Mongolian CS:GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive) team Mongolz had their players’ visas turned down at the last minute. This stopped them from competing in the world finals tournament and a chance at a $1,000,000 prize. For the League of Legends spring season, three European teams have players unable to attend due to visa issues, and the North American team Echo Fox was forced to forfeit a game for the first time in the league’s history when their foreign players were unable to attend.

Many of these denied visas are due to the personal judgement of people during the application process and the lack of protective legislation for this new brand of athlete. Until the laws catch up or the general mindset towards esports changes, there will continue to be issues.

Sources:

http://espn.go.com/esports/story/_/id/14661486/breaking-league-legends-visa-issue

http://espn.go.com/esports/story/_/id/14838499/csgo-major-visa-issues-not-mlg-fault

http://www.lolesports.com/en_US/articles/worlds-2015-viewership

http://esports-marketing-blog.com/esport-attendance-figures-esl-one-cologne-2015-27-million-unique-viewers/#.VyPe7_krK70

Hello! It seems it’s time to look at the project and ruminate about the future of it. So far, I’ve had a lot of fun working on and creating my game. It’s been great to learn more about coding and logic systems, and while designing and working on my game, the time has flown by. My mentor has been incredibly helpful for advice, answering questions, and general support of the project.

The project has definitely been more challenging than I had anticipated, but in areas that I didn’t expect. Graphical design, appearance, and layout were difficult to get to a good point, but some of the coding was much easier than I had thought it would be. Another part that I hadn’t completely thought out was the difficulty; since this level of math is almost automatic to me, it was hard to judge. My mentor was invaluable here with her knowledge of younger kids and their education.

It’s been a great experience seeing everyone’s blogs and their progress, the diverse range of projects shows the many inventive ideas that people have created. The feedback people have given me on each blog post has been very helpful, and I thank everyone who has commented. (If there are any ideas you have for me, feel free to share.)

The project is going well, and I’m glad I have this opportunity to pursue a personal interest that benefits the community.

Stacie Townsend has been a teacher for thirteen years and has taught science, language arts,  and reading and math intervention to kids ranging from kindergartners to eighth graders. (She’s also my mom.) She’ll be helping me with design, scheduling, and advice for the creation of the game. The following is the transcript of a short interview I had with her where I asked some questions about the project.

Q: What age range would be best if the game will include addition and simple multiplication?

A: Five to ten years old.


Q: What less obvious aspects of math should be included in the game?

A: You should show the reversibility of addition and multiplication. For example, 3 + 5 and 5 + 3 are the same.


Q: How should the difficulty of the game scale? What help should they receive on problems?

A: Start out easy, and gradually get more difficult. Have lots of ‘rewards’ or praise for being successful. If they get stuck on a problem, visualize the equation so it is easier for them to solve, or have hints that appear.


Q: What should the visual appearance of the game be?

A: Bright colors, but not to the point of being distracting or annoying.


Q: What kind of progression should the game have?

A: Maybe a picture that is uncovered by completing problems, or stars that are collected as you play.


I’m glad for her support, and I’ll continue to ask questions and draw on her experience as the project progresses. With her help, the work is going smoothly and the project is on track!

Hello! I’m inexperienced in blogging and this sort of social media, so I apologize if I make mistakes.

My goal for the 20% project is to create a simple video game to help teach young children math. I will complete the project on my own, but I will enlist the help of my mentor and advice from friends who have experience in this area. As I work on this project, I will learn the basics of coding, game development, and product design.

I believe this project is worthwhile because it will be helpful to young children learning math. Games are interactive, and I believe this provides a better learning experience by promoting attentiveness.

My basic plan and timeline for finishing this project is as follows:

During the first week: Learn the basics of developing games, such as basic coding, game design, and how to use the game-creation software to its fullest.

Over the next four weeks: Create and test the game. I predict this will take the longest, so I gave it the largest time frame.

In the last week: Use feedback to modify and improve the game, and search for issues within the game.

To complete the project, I will need a computer and game-creation software, both of which I currently have. Therefore, there are no predicted monetary expenses for this project.

I’m looking forward to working on this project and seeing everybody else’s!